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Show 474 DR. J. ANDERSON ON SPALAX TYPHLUS. [June 14, opening them up occupied some time ; but as the soil was not hard and the tunnels not more than 18 inches, as a rule, below the surface, the work was accomplished more quickly than it would have been had the conditions been less favourable to digging. When a secondary tunnel was encountered its opening was closed while the main run was traced to its end, and then the secondary one was taken up, and so on until at last all the runs were searched from the points at which they had been cut across, and then the other sections in the opposite directions were taken in hand. W e followed some of these to a depth of four feet, and there the passages were numerous and some of them very short and running above others below them. In one place, three runs were observed side by side, but all ultimately diverged from each other. In following one of these to the depth just mentioned we came upon a domical chamber packed full of bulbs, some of which are exhibited. M y wife counted them as they were handed out and they reached the number of 68. Adjoining this chamber was another, quite empty, and which the Arabs said was the sleeping apartment. A passage leading off from these chambers was followed up for a short distance, when we came upon the animal moving backwards in it, retreating as we gradually shortened its burrow, which proving to be a cul-de-sac rendered the capture of the rodent an easy matter. All the passages dug up seemed to radiate outwards from these chambers ; but we did not see any other store chambers, as the two other animals we captured were found in runs near the surface. However, in following up one animal we came upon a chamber the floor of which was covered with a nest of leaves. The digging out of these, three animals occupied us four hours. "The tunnels are perfectly smooth and cylindrical, and in digging through the soil above them numerous bulbs of the same kind as those found in the store-house were observed. The runs are therefore tunnels made by the animal in search of its food. " I kept the three animals beside me for some time before sending them off by steamer for London, placing each in a large tin box half filled with earth and sand. I observed that when a number of bulbs were given to them they manifested their hoarding instinct by carrying them between their powerful teeth to one spot, where they deposited them-a very striking performance in an animal devoid of sight. The probability is that, in actions of this kind, it is guided by the sense of smell, the other sense which is most developed being that of hearing, even although there is no external ear, this part of the acoustic organ being reduced to a tube beginning on a level with the external skin, but of considerable capacity. The animal is endowed with wonderful activity and is very restless at night, thus still retaining a habit of life which, although probably of no use to it now, is generally characteristic of its close allies. It would be very interesting to know whether it ever comes above ground, as the Arabs assert that males and females are never found in the same burrows. The area, however, which I examined was so cut up by runs from various centres that it is easy to conceive that the burrows of different sexes occasionally intersect and communicate with one another. |